“Honey, I shrunk the kids” might be a statement from the world of science fiction, but in reality, we do seem to be making the move towards smaller and smaller devices. Computers have seen their processors shrink by leaps and bounds over the years, so much so that the smartphone in your hand could very well be a state of the art computer a decade or two back. Researchers at Stanford University unveiled on Wednesday what they claim to be the first working computer that was built entirely from carbon nanotube transistors.
Using seamless cylinders of ultrapure carbon, these are accompanied by a slew of other exotic materials researchers, allowing the researchers to further investigate the possibilities of smaller computers since electronics developers happen to be arriving at the theoretical limits of conventional silicon transistors. Of course, this particular invention is still primitive in nature, but it does show the possibility of transistors that are made using such unusual carbon fibers, all fitted into a general purpose computer.
Stanford University electrical engineer Max Shulaker, said, “It really is a computer in every sense of the word. This shows that you can build working, useful circuits out of carbon nanotubes and they can be manufactured reliably.”
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